Auto-identification (auto-id) systems are used, for example, to identify or otherwise obtain information about products that are to be manufactured, bought or sold, or otherwise used in commerce. For example, information regarding a physical object, such as a box in a backroom, may be stored in association with a tag or other identifier that is affixed to the box, and/or an object tagged with a unique identifier may be located on a shelf in a retail store. Then, some sort of device, such as a reader or sensor, may be used to identify the physical objects, using the identifier, and thereby determine, capture, and use the information stored in a computer system with respect to the box or the object, such as, for example, a brand name of the object or an expiration date of the object.
One example of an auto-id system is known as a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) system. RFID generally refers to technologies in which a unique number (and/or other identifying information) is stored on a microchip that is associated with an antenna within an RFID tag or transponder. A reader is used to communicate with the antenna and obtain the unique number from the microchip, and thereby obtain information associated with the unique number. Advantageously, RFID is fast and wireless, does not require a direction or line-of-sight to enable communication between readers and tags, and reduces or eliminates the need for human data entry. As a result, RFID may be used in many applications, such as, for example, identification of tagged objects within stores or warehouses, automatic payment of tolls by cars with RFID tags, and/or identification of authorized personnel for entry into a restricted area.
Many other types of auto-id system devices exist. Examples include 2D bar code scanners, smart card devices/readers, voice recognition systems, optical character recognition systems, and biometric systems (e.g., retinal and fingerprint scans). Many or all such systems have the ability or the potential to reduce costs, increase efficiency, improve data accuracy, provide data with more granularity (even down to the single item/object level), and thereby improve customer satisfaction within the operations of an enterprise system.